Brooklyn North Homicide Squad

Publish date: 2024-03-02

An effective combination of "NYPD Blue" and "Cops," Court TV documentary miniseries "Brooklyn North Homicide Squad" takes us inside the workings of a team of devoted murder detectives. The first three episodes have aired previously to solid ratings for the cabler.

An effective combination of “NYPD Blue” and “Cops,” Court TV documentary miniseries “Brooklyn North Homicide Squad” takes us inside the workings of a team of devoted murder detectives. The first three episodes have aired previously to solid ratings for the cabler, and Court TV will run those again on Sunday, leading into the premiere of the two final hour-long episodes. Taken in total, the docu reps a solid effort as Court TV continues to transform from a specialized news service to an entertainment outlet with a crime-oriented theme.

Each of the five episodes is self-contained, placing focus on a single murder investigation, which is covered from beginning to end. In addition, the detectives pursue the ongoing case of a serial killer, dubbed the Brooklyn Strangler, who leaves six corpses behind before being captured by the team in the final episode. What comes across is the squad’s stalwart professionalism and methodical approach to solving cases.

Popular on Variety

The personalities here vary from the straightforward to the showy, and some of the character traits are particularly amusing. Lt. Joe Heffernan heads the squad and provides a model of competent management, constantly encouraging his forces for their good work and keeping abreast of every twist and turn. He also keeps hundreds of neckties in his closet, pulling them out when he needs to change for an event, like an awards ceremony or, in one case, the funeral of an abandoned baby whose death the squad investigates. Once in a while, an unidentified man plays a bagpipe in Heffernan’s office.

The most notable personage here, and someone who could certainly warrant his own TV show, is Det. Louis Savarese, an oversized 27-year veteran who loves to drive his Harley-Davidson on his day off, talks about getting a new gun each birthday, and has emblems of his most prominent cases tattooed onto his body. He’s also the resident intellectual, taking apart a crime scene with precision and pontificating on the that evil men do. Other members of the squad demonstrate just as much ability, but not with equal flair.

Much of what we see provides an effective contrast — a reality check, if you will — to the typical portrayal of police work on television.

In fact, when the detectives share their thoughts with the camera, they often ponder the differences between the pop cultural view of their profession and the grueling, unglamorous truth of what they do on a day-to-day basis. The interrogation scenes, for example, are noticeably low-key compared to the pumped-up drama of TV shows, but remain a fascinating centerpiece nonetheless. And the resolutions to these cases often involves a nice bit of luck or help from outside forces, even though the detectives work tirelessly to achieve justice.

Producers Daniel Elias and David Houts do a strong job of giving us a sense of the belabored patience involved in pursuing murderers while packaging the material to make it flow dramatically. By the last two episodes, though, they’re repeating interview footage, and the murder scenes are shot with increasing pretentiousness, using slow-motion tracking shots that diminish rather than enhance the piece’s power.

While the docu certainly presents a realistic picture, it also seems to shy away from more controversial elements. It would be nice to hear these cops give an opinion about the more sensational NYPD incidents that have stained the department’s reputation, like the Amadou Diallo case. Without even a mention of this or other less-than-positive facts that must effect the detectives’ morale in some way, it’s a bit difficult to consider this journalism so much as “Cops”-like titillation.

Tech credits are good.

Jump to Comments